July 23, 2008

Salespeople Recommend LCD TV's Over Plasma, But Don't Really Know The Difference

salesman(2).jpg Been shopping for a flat-panel TV lately? Chances are that if you have, you were helped by a salesperson without much knowledge of LCD or plasma TV's but still steered you toward an LCD model. According to a study by J.D. Power & Associates which used 2000 mystery shoppers over 6 months to compile data, more than 75% of the time salespeople will recommend an LCD TV over a plasma. Interestingly, more than 37% of salespeople say a big downside of plasma TV's is picture "burn"-in onto the display, a problem that hasn't been around for years. Another oft-mentioned plasma problem was light reflections from its glossy surface, a problem of relevance at least. Well aware of so-called problems with plasma displays, customers were steered toward more expensive LCD displays even though less than 25% of the time, salespeople pointed out advantages of LCD's such as being brighter and less power hungry than plasma's. Something to keep in mind next time you go TV shopping.

Via USA Today